Every year the age that the average child receives a cellphone becomes lower and lower. According to a survey by Child Guide Magazine, the average age that an American receives a cellphone is six years old. Having a cell phone can be really useful at any age because it helps people connect with each other, set reminders and alarms for things they need to remember and it can be used to call for help duringan emergency. However, first graders are not necessarily ready to have the responsibility of a cellphone.
Every child develops at their own pace. By the age of six, not all children have the ability to read and write sufficiently. Adding a cellphone to the mix could become a detriment, not a benefit, to their language learning skills. At an age where language development is crucial, things like autocorrect and acronyms like “LOL” could weaken children’s grammar skills.
Additionally, not all children are responsible enough to have a cellphone in elementary school. While some children, like adults, are more inclined to be more organized and thoughtful, others are not as careful with their belongings. Younger kids have a higher tendency to break and lose their cellular device. If they leave their cellphone lying around at school or daycare, it will most likely get stolen. With that in mind, that’s a lot of trust to put in the hands of a first grader.
The biggest argument for cellphones for children is that it is useful during emergencies. This is true to an extent. If an emergency happens at school like, god forbid, a school shooting or someone breaks their leg, the school officials need to call the police and report the emergency. There have been multiple reports across school campuses (not just elementary schools) where phone lines have been blocked by excessive use, and even if the phone lines aren’t clogged, the last thing emergency operators need is to be bombarded by multiple calls from panicked children.
Young childhood is a time that requires a lot of hands-on learning to become a self-sufficient adult. Cellphones help people by making access to other people and reminders easier. However, user-beware. Becoming too dependent on a cellphone is a problem when you don’t have one. Always needing a phone to remind you of things makes it harder to remember things on your own, and being in constant communication with others makes it more difficult to be alone. All of these problems are amplified with children who often see the world in more extremes than adults do.
While it seems like having a cellphone as a child would be convenient and useful, that isn’t always the case. Parents should always asses their child as an individual and their situation before loading that responsibility onto them. Children shouldn’t have cellphones unless they truly need them.
